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With Jonathon Scoop about a year away from being ready for the majors and JJ Hardy being under team control for just another season and a half it’s time to consider what position Schoop should play.

He is projected to have above average power and has shown signs of being a solid run producer so the bat would probably play at 3B. That would seem to be a logical choice because our current 3B, Manny Machado, has shown all of signs that he would be a plus SS.

Problem solved; right? Maybe not. IF Schoop can play an above average defensive 2B then his bat would be well above league average there and could be the equal of Brian Roberts in his prime, or even better.

That leaves the issue of who would play 3B for the Orioles. We don’t have a prospect for that position anywhere near ML ready, but there are some intriguing names that might be available on the trade market for the right player. Nick Castellanos appears to have enough of a bat to play at 3B, but he probably won’t be ML ready for a team that is playing for a playoff spot until next season at the earliest; and Detroit would almost certainly want either our existing SS (Hardy) or our closer, Jim Johnson. The team is probably not going to make a trade like that during a season in which they think they can win.

This coming winter the Orioles could revisit a Hardy/Castellanos trade with the Tigers or maybe offer hardy to the Cardinals in exchange for 2B prospect Kolten Wong who should be ML ready in 2014.

Either of those trades would set up our IF for years to come, but what do we do with Schoop THIS year? Your thoughts and WHY you see that as the best option.

Hardy's value was in the 2 years at 7 million, plus the glove. Another 200 BA season, a year older, and less control probably puts Castallanos and other high quality prospects out of reach.

The Orioles like Schoop around the bag at 2nd from what I read. That's where he is playing this year at AAA. At this stage of his career I would like to see them commit him to a position and let him try to get ready to contribute in 2014. After a slow offensive start (possibly due to defensive struggles at SS), the bat is starting to come around, hit in 9 straight games. But most of the improvement, including K/BB ratio, comes after the Orioles switched him to 2nd base the last four games.

I don't know if the Cardinals would be so eager to trade away Kolten Wong. Their team has a stud at every position, excluding the middle infield, at the major league level. With the exception of Carlos Beltran, all of their premier players are locked up through at least 2014. They are expecting to let Oscar Tavares take the right field reigns next year. But, with Matt Carpenter able to play first base and right field, Tavares and/or Matt Adams can be used as trade bait to net a shortstop. There isn't much talent in the 2014 shortstop free agent pool, but they do have Jason Motte, Chris Carpenter, Rafael Furcal, Beltran, and potentially Jake Westbrook all coming off the books, they have some money to spare. I expect them to make Wong their second basemen, Tavares their right fielder, and Carpenter their super utility. All they need is a shortstop for the future, and they can dangle Matt Adams while they spend on a starting pitcher next year.

Regarding Schoop, he is at least one year away. He didn't really perform well in AA last year, yet we moved him up to AAA for some reason. He's still raw, but it is appealing and useful that he can play 2B, 3B, and SS. Since he is not expected to play SS for much longer, play him everyday at 2B or 3B, wherever the organization feels he is better suited for.

Well the team needs to settle on one position for Schoop for starters. Is he a SS or a 2B? A few days ago I researched it. All but like 5 games were at SS. If that's his role his talent at the plate plays up. Especially from a power potential stand point. He looks like a 20-25HR a year type player with 150 MLB games. But we can not count on him being ready by April next season. Yes, he's coming around at the plate in AAA but that slow start was worrisome.

He needs a position that is his to master. It does not matter whether it's SS or 2B his overall value plays up nicely at either spot. Why waist development time on something that ultimately may not be his role?

Ofahn, I have to kind of call you out on the Brian Roberts in his prime comparison. Brian Roberts in his prime (2005-2009) was a fantastic lead off hitter that you could almost count on a batting line .285+/.370/.450 he hit 40 or more doubles and scored 85 or more runs each year in his prime. I'm sure your thinking overall value but Schoop is a completely different type. My guess is if he really is as talented as we hope he bats anywhere from 3-7 in the lineup. In just about anyone's eyes that is a pretty good 2b or SS.My guess is he's a 2B and that is just fine by me!

Machado: Can he at least be an slightly above average SS in the field? It's no sure thing. Haphazard play in that spot is almost always a disaster. If the team knows he can do it and be solid then it needs to be done. If he's a cornerstone piece to a team it's at SS. He might make a decent 3B but SS is where the big money is. It is also where real value is to be had. If not, he's an average to slightly above average 3B.

JJ Hardy: Hardy still has pretty good value. He's likely not the star he once was however, he's still an outstanding SS capable of offensive burst that will impress. Nick Castellanos is a fine prospect. However, I suspect Detroit would expect more than Hardy for him. How much more? I'm not sure but my guess is a Zachary Davies and Parker Bridwell might do it. Is Castellanos enough of a return for that much? I'm on the fence.

Kolten Wong in my eyes is a cornerstone piece easily! To get a player of that caliber you will have to move a great deal more than Hardy and two minor league arms. Others will argue that, but you won't find any taker in reality.

Let Schoop perculate in AAA and really get his game together with maybe a Sept. call up. We have Roberts coming back and Flaherty could still be productive as he gains more MLB at-bats. I don't see a need to rush the kid

birdwatcher55 wrote:Let Schoop perculate in AAA and really get his game together with maybe a Sept. call up. We have Roberts coming back and Flaherty could still be productive as he gains more MLB at-bats. I don't see a need to rush the kid